Andy Murray believes longer tennis off-season is needed, but calls players 'hypocritical' for schedule complaints then playing exhibitions

The tennis season is known for being active all-year round. Even after the season-ending championships, players are usually still competing in exhibition events as they begin their preparation for the next season. Some argue that the season is too long, something that Andy Murray spoke about to The National.

"I think there should be a longer off-season as well," he said. "I don't know if I would want restrictions on exhibitions."

It's true that players are still in control of their schedule as well, with Carlos Alcaraz choosing to take part in the Netflix Cup next month, just weeks after suffering an ankle injury.

"I just think that sometimes the players are a little bit hypocritical [over] the tennis schedule. And they don't have to play every tournament on the ATP tour; they can decide not to come here [to Dubai] or they don't have to play Indian Wells," the Brit added.

"Yes, that might harm their ranking, but they can choose to miss those events. So yeah, I would probably like to see a longer off-season."

Murray continues his 2024 season at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The former World No. 1 plays Denis Shapovalov on Monday afternoon.